course
part of speech
noun (a course, courses); adverb phrase «of course»; verb (course, courses, coursed, coursing — rare, of liquids)
meaning for a pupil
1) A course is a set of lessons on a subject: «a swimming course». tree →
2) A course is a part of a meal: «The main course was pasta.» tree →
3) A course is the path or direction something follows, like a river or a ship. tree →
4) A course is an area for a sport or race: a golf course, an obstacle course. tree →
5) «Of course» means «yes, certainly» or «as you would expect». tree →
6) To course means to flow fast: «Tears coursed down her cheeks.» tree →
sense in the lessons
Interpretation: In Chronicles and Nehemiah a "course" is a shift or division of priests and Levites who served in turn in the Temple. In Deborah's song the stars "in their courses" fought Sisera, meaning the paths of the stars, which tradition reads as heaven helping Israel. In the primary lessons: At school a course is a set of lessons, and in maths or science a course of action is a plan. In everyday life meals have courses (starter, main course, dessert). On sports day there is an obstacle course; golf is played on a golf course. In stories ships and rivers change course. Phrases: «of course», «of course not», «in the course of», «a course of action», «on course», «off course», «in due course», «main course», «golf course».
examples
- 26) Here is meant: ethereal air, ethereal water, ethereal fire, the macrocosm, the courses of time and microcosm. (Sefer Yetzirah, Kalisch 1877) tree →
- Hebrew has of course several verb roots relating to one or more of each of these three facets of language. (Sefer Yetzirah, Sefaria community translation) tree →
- Wind is of course the herald of the storm, the Biblical symbol par excellence of the divine theophany, making wind a potent symbol of divine imminence. (Sefer Yetzirah, Sefaria community translation) tree →
- And the courses of the sons of Aaron were these. (Writings 1CH.24.1, JPS 1917) tree →
- They fought from heaven, the stars in their courses fought against Sisera. (Prophets JDG.5.20, JPS 1917) tree →
- And of the Levites, certain courses in Judah were joined to Benjamin. (Writings NEH.11.36, JPS 1917) tree →
- I am doing a first-aid course this summer. tree →
- «Can you help me?» «Of course!» tree →
- The main course was roast chicken. tree →
- The river changes course after heavy rain. tree →
- We ran round the obstacle course on sports day. tree →
- The plane was blown off course by the storm. tree →
- Of course, you need to show your working in maths. tree →
- In the course of the week we read three books. tree →
- Of course it was a Friday. tree →
note
Countable: courses. Homophone trap: «course» (lessons, path, of course) and «coarse» (rough, not smooth) sound the same. «Of course» is two words. Saying «of course» can sound rude if the other person did not know — «Yes, sure» can be kinder.
In the corpora
- They fought from heaven, the stars in their courses fought against Sisera.
- Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run his course.
- Let thy springs be dispersed abroad, and courses of water in the streets.
- And of the Levites, certain courses in Judah were joined to Benjamin.
- And David divided them into courses according to the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «course» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.